Breaking: A-Rod to opt out

Alex Rodriguez notified the Yankees on Sunday that he’s opting out of his record $252 million contract, SI.com has learned.

Rodriguez’s decision means he will become a free agent and be able to negotiate with all clubs. Rodriguez’s bombshell move will shake up the entire winter for the Yankees — who had hoped to retain him with a big extension — as well as other big-market clubs that will now pursue him.

Rodriguez’s agent Scott Boras said he sent word of the opt-out in writing Sunday and left phone and text messages for Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. The Yankees have said that once A-Rod opts out, they wil not pursue him, since they will lose the benefit of the Texas Rangers’ $30-million subsidy.

“Alex made the decision today,” Boras said. “I thought we should notify the club.”

The Yankees were preparing an extension to his current contract for either five or six years, believed to be for close to $30 million annually. However, team officials said Boras has politely declined to meet with them in recent days, and they never presented the offer.

So now we’ll see if the Yankees are true to their word. As they’re losing a year’s worth of A-Rod money from the Rangers, they’ve said they won’t negotiate with him. Can the richest team stay true to its word in dealing with the game’s best player? The future just grew rather hazy for the Yankees.

As for A-Rod, if this report is true, I’m thinking some very unprintable things right now. Don’t let the door hit your money-grubbing hands on the way out.

Update 11:10 p.m.: Ken Rosenthal during the game just said he spoke to Scott Boras, and A-Rod opted out supposedly because he is unsure of the future composition of the Yankees. He’s unsure about Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte‘s return. He’s unsure of the ownership transition. He claims he will continue to negotiate with the Yankees.

For my part, I call bullshit. I’m pretty pissed at A-Rod. The Yanks were willing to offer him a five-year, $150-million deal. Somehow, Boras and A-Rod think some team — not the Yankees — can trump that offer. As Joe wrote earlier today, no way.

Meanwhile, A-Rod is — or was — the future of the Yankees. Mariano Rivera has one more contract left; Andy Pettitte may retire after next season; Jorge has three or four years if we’re lucky. Alex Rodriguez would have been the face of the Yankees for eight years. There would have been nothing at all uncertain about that.

As for the Red Sox, we’ll see. Let’s see how the fairweather fans who hated A-Rod in Boston respond to that one.

Let A-Rod walk. Use the 30+ million per year to dominate the draft and international free agent market.

Ivan

Well it has been a great offseason uh? It just keeps getting better and better.

Jersey

If that’s the way it’s gonna be, then good riddance.

JP

For a guy that’s supposed to care so much about his legacy he sure doesn’t help it any. After this move, his legacy with the Yankees could haunt him forever. So long schmuck!

RAY SAM

we never won anything with a-rod put up big numbers in the regular season .nothing in the playoffs.lets keep the money and get some pitchers.yankee fans just be patient.we may lose for a few years but we will be chanpions again. we also should name a new captain.jeter is in decline and is not vocal enough.long live the yankees. rockies are a piece of crap.

usty

F*** F*** F*** F***

yankz

Burn in hell.

Stuart

arod is a parasite.. vno I am sorry how can I say that he is just trying to take care of his family!!!!!!!!!!!!!

give me a break.. Bye.. Time to move on. adios soft man……

bye bye…. anyone with a brain that thinks the yanks should keep him are MORONS….

As our old friend Alex use to say he loves Ny and the Yanks(give me a break). really how can a guy survive on $250 million or os???

Gibb

i can’t wait to be allowed to hate arod again. what a bitch.

Mike R.

A-Rod is going to wear a cap with a dollar sign into the hall of fame.

So what’s the plan. Should we make a push for Miguel Cabrera, Garret Atkins or try to sign Lowell to a 3 year deal? Maybe something else I haven’t mentioned.

JP

I think Miguel Cabrera just became more important then Santana

Mike R.

I was thinking that as I wrote.

marc

Piece of crap, I rather Lowell after this series.

steve

oh….my….god …. what the hell are we going to do now? who’s going to play third ?! who is going to supply more than 15 homeruns on the team ? this has been a terrible offseason so far …. and the sox are going to win it all. fantastic

NYFan50

Well, color me surprised. I thought there was no way he was opting out. This…sucks. Badly.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.

I think we can pretty much kiss Ian Kennedy good bye. And maybe Melky too.

Michael T

Arod has just become Public Enemy #1 for his 3rd franchise. Pretty impressive given that he is such a great player who plays the game hard and the Right Way. I don’t think the Sox will sign him now that they are on the verge of winning their 2nd WS in 3 years, even though they have the bucks and he would be a perfect fit. They are too image-conscious and that would be over the top.

It will likely boil down to the Dodgers and Angels. And don’tt rule out th Giants of it is all about money. They have no other play than having the lonestar. But I think ARod will want to go to a contender.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.

If he doesn’t come back to the Yanks — and I’m still not ruling that out (how reliable are the Steinbrenners anyway?) — I’d say the Cubs are a prime contender too.

RJ – CT

Well, better to know now than have to wait 10 more days.
Let’s roll:
Resign Mo, Posada and hopefully Pettitte will come back.
Keep the planned rotation of Wang, Joba, Hughes, Kennedy and Pettitte.
Use Mussina to spot start to protect the rookies.
Screw Lowell, signing a 30+ player is the old yankee way.
Try to make a move for a young 3rd basemen, preferably try to get Cabrera without giving up any of the 3 young guns.
Keep Abreau, but only for the 1 year.
Rebuild the bullpen. If twins don’t sign Nathan to long term deal, target him down the road.
This is a chance for the Yankees to rebuild around their young pitchers.
Please don’t let them blow it with a mistake signing of hunter or jones or something ridiculous.
See ya A-rod, have fun floundering in LA or Chicago with sub-par teams and fans that run hot and cold, depending on the day of the week.
He had a chance to leave a great legacy, now he just goes down as one of the greediest players of all-time.
SEE YA!!

http://www.iwritesports.com Adam

The really isn’t that big of a deal. We now have twenty million to spend, and we don’t have to replace him just as third basemen. The Yanks had a giant hole at first, so if the Yanks are smart they can more or less replace his production by getting decent players at both third and first.

The Yanks should now look into what it would take to get Miguel Cabrera and if that includes either Hughes or Joba then move on to a Mike Lamb or Morgan Ensberg type who can compete with Wilson Betitmet for the third base job.

Seriously, the Yanks can lose 100 runs on offense and still be in a great position if they can build a dominant bullpen and the young arms improve the rotation.

Adam B.

It won’t be the Cubs. When you’re trying to sell a team, you don’t add on that much in salary. It makes it harder to sell, even if it’s a star like A-Rod.

yankz

I wonder if a package around IPK could be spun for Atkins.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.

I’d rather go after Miguel Cabrera than Atkins right now.

http://riveraveblues.com Mike A.

Gimme neither. Neither of those will be able to play 3B by 2010. What crappy news.

Count Zero

QFT

http://ibleedblueandwhite.blogspot.com/ Jamie

Ben may I ask the question of why would you want an overweight 3B that is probably better suited as a 1B or a DH in the long run? Miggy can hit, no doubt about it, but the guy is a slob when it comes to his playing condition.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.

I think he could be convinced ($$$) to stay in shape, and I like him a lot more than I like Atkins. That being said, I wouldn’t give up the farm for Cabrera.

http://www.iwritesports.com Adam

Even if he did need to move to first, it’s not like we have a first baseman standing in his way. He certainly hits well enough to be an all-star as first as well.

Atkins on the other hand is a complete product of Coors field. Look at his splits. His bat wouldn’t play at first either if he did require a move. I wouldn’t trade much more than Jeff Marquez for him.

Mike R.

I think it could, the question is do we want to do that? I Atkins worth IPK + a B prospect? I am not saying he is or isn’t I would just like to look into it.

I would also like to check what it would take to get Ian Stewart, the kid Atkins is blocking. Would it be more or less? Would it be worth it?

Count Zero

Boras – all in.

Let’s see if the Yankees were bluffing or not. If it’s me, I have to keep my word and let him walk — otherwise I’m setup as a sucker for years to come.

We are rebuilding now folks, like it or not. I wouldn’t trade for Cabrera — it will cost too much to get him, and our left side of the infield would be a horror show defensively with him next to Jete.

What good 3B prospects are out there that we could trade AA pitchers for?

http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.

yes, Miggy and Jeter would be a poor left infield, but why not move Cabrera to 1b and Betemit to 3b. Along with Shelley, a sort of rotation of those guys on the corners could work.

Shelley 1b
Betemit 1b/3b
Cabrera 1b/3b

Yes, it would take a lot to get Cabrera, but he is a true stud hitter. He’s only 24 and has a career OPS+ of 143! supposedly Florida only plans to keep one of Dtrain and Miggy. if we could get Miggy without giving up Phil, Joba or Cano, i say do it.

http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.

Fuck him. We won 4 titles without an MVP, 0 with one.

let him try to get more than the Yanks would have given. You’re right Mike T, Arod will now be hated by fans of 3 teams, not 2 anymore. there goes his legacy, his monument, his retired #, his old timer’s day. i just hope Cash sticks to his word.

the push for Lowell or Miggy increases.

Boras said something really stupid. “He really didn’t want to make any decisions until he knew what they [Rivera, Pettitte and Posada] were doing.” They still haven’t made any decisions! All three could return to the Yanks, or all three could depart. no fucking sense at all.

Gibb

i gotta say, everyone knows how good arod is. i mean he’s sick. but you know what, we did just fine without him. Arod is a complete douchebag. It is sometimes hard to see that when’s he’s jacking out 50 homeruns, but seriously, what a douche.

If you remove 100 runs from our total, you know what? you’d still have 1 more than the Red Sox.

http://ibleedblueandwhite.blogspot.com/ Jamie

I’m guessing Ian Stewart on the Rockies is prob too much of a reach to get without 1 of the big three going to Colorado in the deal.

http://riveraveblues.com Mike A.

This team has NO right-handed power. Shelley Duncan. That’s it.

Yankee Fan in Chicago

I still thinks it’s bargaining ploy. Any lawyers in the hizzle? Does a text message mean he opts out? I doubt it. Something somewhere has to be signed, no?

I think this is Boras’ opening ploy. The Yanks will make their offer, Boras will keep releasing press statements about text messages and what not, and in reality we won’t know whether he’s opted out or signed an extension until the 10 days post-WS are up.

yankz

Boras sent it in writing.

Yankee Fan in Chicago

The real question then will be whether the Yanks will be teh gay enough to send a private plane to pick Arod up in Miami to sign the extension, and whether the NY media will be teh gay enough to track said flight on radar.

http://ibleedblueandwhite.blogspot.com/ Jamie

As Mike pointed out, the hunt for a Right Handed Power Bat is on…

yankz

Atkins would most definitely cost a shit ton less than Cabrera. But his road OPS is .781 compared to .927 at Coors.

Still, if he could be had for Kennedy+Clippard+some fringe position prospect, I’d probably do it. He’s young and he’s a hell of a lot better than Betemit.

Mike R.

Andy LaRoche?

http://riveraveblues.com Mike A.

I’ll take it. Mark Reynolds or Chad Tracy is another possibility.

Mike R.

What kind of package do you think it would take to land LaRoche? I’ve in a couple places that the Dodgers would be more than willing to give him up for some veteran help (plus cash I assume).

He’ll be 24 on Opening Day 2008. That does not come cheap. Not at all.

steve

if girardi gets the managerial position we can trade for miggy … he was in shape for girardi when he was in florida. we NEED a righthanded power bat. ASAP. we have no power now.

Malcard89

If Boras said he opted out in a quote to the media, then he definitely opted out. The Yanks cant go after A-rod anymore, it’ll just ruin them in future negotiations as a team that has no leverage whatsoever. There’s STILL a possibility that as you guys pointed out two posts before, no team can reasonably afford that big a contract, so if the Yanks end up offering 8 years at 25 million annually, a little more than they wouldve ended up paying them in the ideal extension scenario, he may have no choice but to accept.

Whether he comes back or not tho, A-rod is forever tainted with this move. No mercy on the boo’s for his first at-bat of 2008 at yankee stadium.

zack

I am pretty shocked about this, and I have to say, A-Rod is an idiot for letting Boras con him into this. He is pretty much ruining his shot at saving his public image…

That being said, you people saying the Yanks won WS titles without him and they’ll be fine/should just move on are nuts. Take A-rod off the Yankees this year and no playoffs. Take him off the team next year and you are looking at a not very potent team…

http://jeteupthemiddle.blogspot.com Jeteupthemiddle

I think people give Boras too much credit.

In the end, he still works for the player.

http://riveraveblues.com Mike A.

Well, technically the opt-out isn’t official until he files it with MLB.

Mike R.

I am seriously afraid that the need for right handed power could bring on the signing of Andruw Jones. In my opinion that would be absolutly disastrous.

Ben

The Steinbrenners f*ed up in not retaining Joe Torre. I think we are beginning to see a domino effect. The current management builds no confidence in their ability to make good decisions.

Mike R.

Are you kidding me with this? You really think this isn’t purely and completely about money? Joe Torre had NOTHING to do with this. If Pettite doesn’t pick up his option I might buy that argument, but “Batted 8th”_Rod is not sticking up for Torre.

http://jeteupthemiddle.blogspot.com Jeteupthemiddle

Oh come on, Ben, you and everyone else on this site (and most blogging sites, for that matter) can’t stand Torre as a manager and are quite happy to see new blood for next year.

Seems kind of wrong to back track on this.

Also, I don’t think Arod has much love for the man who didn’t defend him and batted him 8th in a World Series game.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.

That other Ben is not me. He should do something to differentiate himself from the guys — me — writing the site.

http://jeteupthemiddle.blogspot.com Jeteupthemiddle

oops. :blush:

Mike R.

I agree 100% with your opinion, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t Ben K. from the site, but rather a reader named Ben.

maddogruss

In order for A-Rod to bat 8th in the WS, he has to make the World Series.

Great players in their sports to have NEVER won a championship!! He’s a LOSER who never made it to the World Series. A-Rod may be an unbelievable player, but I’d take Scott Brosius or even Chuck Knoblauch over A-Rod any day. A-Rod is a me player…everything’s about “Me, me, me.” If he truly wanted Posada and River and Torre back, he would have used his ability to opt-out as leverage. There’s no way he cares about those guys…he cares only about himself.

So, A-Rod, take your 3 AL MVPs and walk. My SS has 4 rings and a WORLD SEREIS MVP. Hell, he’s got a WS at bat…that’s more thaqn you can say!

Malcard89

well a not-potent-team in 2008 is going a bit far. Hughes and Joba will be solid next year, so better pitching for the most part, and our offense wont be devastating, but it’ll be above-average, especially if Damon and Abreu have a full season of what they did in the 2nd half of the year. plus betemit is not a disaster with the bat either.

CB

Ian Kennedy now becomes more important to hold on to then he did before. I wouldn’t trade him unless it was for Santana.

This team is going to have to win with pitching now. ARod wants out – so be it. Move on. They haven’t won a championship with him and there’s no reason to think they are helpless without him. They aren’t going to be able to replace ARod at third with one guy. They shouldn’t even try to do it. Cabrera is so out of shape that he won’t be at third for very long at all. They shouldn’t do anything rash (Lowell, Jones, etc.). That will just compound the problems they’ve had even more.

This is a setback but far from a fatal blow. ARod is the best player in the game but also disproportionately paid. They’ll thrive again as long as they focus on pitching and young players.

If they make the playoffs next year – Joba, Hughes, Pettite, Wang in a short series. I’ll take my chances. It’s no guarantee but they’ve come up very short with the superstar at every position model as well.

NYFan50

Man I am still trying to wrap my head around this. I never thought this was going to happen. Nobody is going to give him the $30M the Yanks would have.

If he ends up with the Sox I am going to vomit.

Quick thoughts – no #$()& way the Yankees can get Miggy Cabrera without giving up Joba or Hughes. And even if they do, he’s going to 1B, and Betemit is playing 3rd. Reynolds might be a good trade option. This free agent market sucks. A-Rod is it. I still hope for a Santana trade centered around Wang. Yanks are going to have to improve somewhere and at this juncture it doesn’t look like it’s going to be offensively.

Brian

Go Rockies.
In other news, A-Rod not becoming a champion with the Yankees, if that’s what happens, is flat-out embarrassing. He is so dumb when it comes to posturing and negotiation; I’ll bet Boras has convinced A-Rod that better deals are out there, that he can still get the best deal from the Yankees possibly, etc. My guess is that A-Rod thinks that the Yankees look worse than he does if they don’t sign him even after the opt-out–pointing to 2007 stats and all–but no, A-Rod, they’ll look like they didn’t bend over to you and Boras, and you will indeed look like a real asshat.
2 outs left. Go Rockies.

sam

The yankees need to come out and say they were gonna offer him some absurdly large contract extension, say $35 mil a year or something. That way when they get nowhere near that this move will look like a failure.

Mike R.

What is Scott Brosius up to these days? Someone please get him on the phone.

http://riveraveblues.com Mike A.

He’s coaching some small college in Oregon. Besides, his 80 OPS-pluses wouldn’t be much help.

Brian

linfield college (i live in portland and ashamedly haven’t gone to see the man coach)

Brian

Go Yankees.

Mike R.

I just read on mlbtraderumors that Tejada could be an option to fill in at third on the trade market. I’m intrigued. I’m not sure it would take THAT much to land Miggy and I also think he could make a suitable replacement.

Honestly guys, if you think about it, what the hell did A-Rod do vs. the best pitching in the league that nobody else did? This isn’t a knock on Alex either. Good pitching beats good hitting. How many times did a lefty (Bedard for one) just SHUT DOWN the team. Even in the Cleveland series. Their pitchers flat out shut us down. Against that kind of pitching you don’t need a power hitter. You need situational hitters. I never liked Alex, but this year I gained a lot of respect for him. He handled all the bullshit and put up monster numbers. And, yes, he was “clutch” very often during the season. He single-handedly carried the Yanks to a few victories.

That being said, he’s not irreplaceable. The Yanks don’t need 1000 runs to win the pennant. They need 3 sub 3.50 ERA pitchers. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility to say that they have that for next season. Let’s see where things go before we trade the farm for a big bat.

NYFan50

Well, one thing is for certain. This is going to make the offseason interesting. Maybe not in a good way, but interesting.

Count Zero

Nod, nod.

I am curious to see the size of the cojones the new FO team has. Will they stick to their guns and not negotiate with A-Rod? Will they stay with the plan and refuse to trade away Joba, Huge and IPK?

Reflecting on it, I think I see Boras’ plan. He is going to come back to the Yanks in a week or two and say: “Boston is offering 8x$32MM — you still sure you don’t want to negotiate?” Then the Yanks will have to think about A-Rod hitting in a very RH-friendly Fenway for the next eight years and they will have a very tough decision to make…

Here’s hoping they have very large cojones.

Mac

God Damn It.

Where’s Enrique Wilson or Charlie Hayes when you need ‘em…

Mac

On a serious note, do we get draft picks for this crap?

http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.

cash said earlier this year that yes, the Yanks would get a compensatory pick(s).

let the circus move to another town. for those saying the Yanks would have missed the playoffs without Arod, how do you know? it’s not like a replacement level 3b would be there. even an average 3b probably sends the Yanks to the playoffs. the POINT is that great teams have and will exist without Arod. he’s not bigger than the team. i remember saying (along with others) Cash should have traded Arod this year – looks like a good idea now. better than a draft pick or two.

Ricochet

It’s plain and simple no matter what he says, A-Rod doesn’t want to be a Yankee he wants to be the star of his own show because if wanted to play here he would leave over a few million here and there when he’s already set for life and that extra few million that he expects to get elsewhere he won’t even notice with the money he already has plus he’s not going to get a better deal anyways so there is no doubt in my mind this is about his ego to be the star, the man with most money and IMO it proves he doesn’t care about winning it’s about being the center of attention.

http://www.iwritesports.com Adam

The more I think about it, the more I think we should follow the Red Sox blue print and make a shocking trade to the Marlins for a 3B AND a starter. Go for broke, center a deal around Joba for BOTH Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. It’s time to use this rebuilt farm system. And we’re not getting anyone decent without giving up Joba or Hugues.

So why trade Joba? First, he has the hype and therefore the value. He’s also not proven at all as a starter in the show. Hughes had his rough spots, but he’s shown that he belongs. I still think that Hughes will have a better career because he just seems to have the smarts to make the adjustments as his career progresses.

We have the depth to trade Joba. We can trade Joba and Jeff Marquez and Melky and someone else B-level, for Miguel Cabrera and D-Train, and still have Hughes, IPK, Sanchez, Brackman, Tabata and A-Jax.

And while we’re at it, ship off Tyler Clippard to the Nationals for our old buddy Nick Johnson. He’s due 5.5 million next year and didn’t play at all last season. The Nationals also have Demetri Young locked in at first next season. They’ll give us Johnson as a straight salary dump if we ask for him. He’s not a bad option to get 400 AB at first with 250 going to Shelly.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.

Dontrelle Willis kind of sucks. I don’t want him. There are better pitching prospects that the Marlins have.

As for NJ, he didn’t play last year because he broke his femur and hasn’t recovered. It’s doubtful that he’ll ever be able to play again.

http://www.iwritesports.com Adam

That’s why I was proposing a deal for both Willis and Cabrera. Is Willis overrated? Yes. But other than Pettitte the Yanks system is completely devoid of lefties (Kei Igawa included) that can help the team in the near future.

The Yanks need to do something to shake up the team. They have a TON of right handed pitching in their farm system, but teams can only carry 12 or so pitchers on the major league squad. Not to mention that most pitching prospects don’t make it. It’s time to use SOME of those assets while they still have value.

For a high pay rolled squad like the Yanks, the farm systems isn’t just to directly replenish talent, but it’s also to indirectly replenish the talent by trading for stars entering their prime.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.

I don’t think Willis is overrated anymore. He just isn’t that good. He had a 5.28 ERA at home in a pitcher’s park in the National League. He would be an utter disaster in the AL East.

Count Zero

No way. Make that NO WAY I trade Joba for Cabrera and Willis. Willis is not Josh Beckett. That’s exactly the kind of crappy thing I’m praying they don’t do.

Mac

Nick Johnson??

That is never happening. I mean, is it even known that Nick Johnson can walk without crutches yet? He wasn’t so great before he shattered his leg and last I heard, he was having serious, serious issues getting healthy. Also, why do we need an aging fat 1B with leg problems? Don’t we already have a 20+ million dollar one of those?

http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.

ironically, the Beckett for Hanley trade is probably something Epstein would NOT have done. it was during that time he wasnt with the team. Joba is also going to better than DTrain, so why? stay the course. dont go overboard bc of what the Sawx do.

http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.

i agree with the firtst guy. use that Arod money to dominate the IFA market – then use it on Frankie Cordero, Kerry Wood, and to re-sign Mo, Po and Pettitte.

consider trading Abreu, Matsui and Damon too.

Tyler

For my part, I call bullshit. I’m pretty pissed at A-Rod. The Yanks were willing to offer him a five-year, $150-million a year.

I don’t agree with yankees fans on much, but I’ve got to add that I, too, would be quite surprised if someone offers A-Rod $150 million a year. Only the Yankees would be dumb enough to do that.

by the way, for those bashing arod…remember that his own fans treated him like shit for having an “off” year(could easily be any other players career year), and had to have one of the best offensive seasons just to win over yankees fans

maybe it’s just me, but that may be why he didnt have an inkling to stay…

last year in yankee stadium is going to be a dark one, especially w/ hankenstein running the team into the ground with his blind arrogance…

SG

Totally agree, Kunaldo. The guy came in, delivered 2 MVP caliber seasons, and still got hated on for 3/4 of his tenure here. If that is, in fact, the reason for his departure, can any of us blame him for not having such a short memory about his time in NY. The guy would get killed for sunbathing here. Sunbathing.

In no way can this be spun as a positive. Losing the best player in baseball on a team full of aging players and nary a positional prospect close to contributing at the major league level is a big problem for a team that wants to make the World Series every year. Making the playoffs could be a tall order at this point.

Cashman’s got his work cut out for him.

harrison

How about Igawa for Miggy

http://www.riveraveblues.com Ben K.

Okay. I think we need to be a little realistic here. The Orioles aren’t just going to give away one of their star players for a piece of crap pitcher.